Oh, Hello Placement Specialist.

I got an e-mail today with the nifty little final questions that seem to happen prior to an invite.  Yay!  I am bit bummed I fell asleep on my mom's couch while hanging with the miniature brother since the e-mail was sent at 1:37 as I could have totally gotten my responses sent back before the end of the work day! Oh well, now I get to be antsy in my pantsy over the weekend.  Here is the e-mail I recieved, in case anyone is curious as to what questions you may be asked (my name is spelled wrong!):

"Hello Kimberly,


I hope you are doing well. I am the Placement and Assessment Specialist responsible for conducting a review of your application.


Below you will find questions which will help in my review. Please respond via email or contact me to schedule a time to talk through your responses.


1. How have you been preparing for Peace Corps service?


2. Have you communicated with current or Returned Peace Corps volunteers regarding challenges you might face?


For instance, the realities that most Volunteers face in any given country, such as:


· working in unstructured settings
· adapting to a lifestyle without the regular comforts of home you are perhaps accustomed to here in the US (i.e., limited access to internet, phone, etc)
· being far away from friends/family for an extended period of time with very limited communication – particularly with not having previous experience overseas
· working at a comparatively basic level and not always seeing tangible results of one’s development efforts
· lack of privacy while living with a host family

Please discuss what coping strategies you are prepared to employ in an effort to overcome these potential challenges.


3. What prompted you to apply?


4. What has been the response of your family and friends to your decision? Do they have any concerns? What are your thoughts on the separation for 27 months with not having spent time overseas previously?


5. Often, Volunteers are placed a fair distance from each other when based in rural areas. How would you handle possibly feeling isolated in this situation?


6. You were originally nominated and are currently being considered for a program in the Eastern Europe region that departs in March 2011. Are you still available for this departure?


7. Has your email or address changed – or will it in the near future?


I appreciate you taking the time to consider your responses to the above and I look forward to hearing from you soon.


Sincerely,
Christa George
Volunteer Placement and Assessment Specialist
Education Skills Desk"